Background: The difference of inflammatory response between the pathogenesis of cerebral large- and small vessel disease after stroke remains unclear. In present study, we aim to determine the association of circulating inflammatory markers with different stroke subtype.

Methods: 99 patients with non-cardioembolic stroke were divided into large artery atherosclerosis (LAA) and small-artery occlusion (SAO) according to TOAST classification. A panel of plasma inflammatory markers including leukocyte, lymphocyte, CRP, fibrinogen, D-dimer, CD40L, IFN-γ, IL-1α, IL-1β, IL-6, IL-8, IL-17 and TNF-α were measured within 72 hours following cerebral ischemia. The relation of their levels in plasma with stroke subtype was further studied. All statistical data analysis was performed by SPSS 17.0 software.

Results: We found that only CRP were closely associated with stroke subtype (p

Conclusion: LAA had a stronger activation of inflammation than SAO in the pathogenesis, which was associated with the changes of CRP.